faith . hope . home . love

Orange You Glad it’s Friday?

Something bird related or scripture related a la Luke 12 or some kind of intricate faith filled cross design all crossed my mind. But I never could decide. It was post divorce and I eventually moved past it. It was understandable though because the second hole piercing in my ears came as a response to being dumped in high school. So I guess the intent was to counteract a change I couldn’t control with a change that I initiated. Funny thing is I don’t even wear earrings now… one hour with them in and my skin just can’t bear it… it’s sad but probably why I turned to multiple forms of other jewelry for comfort…

Ask me how I’m doing with moving on from Mandy and there may or may not have been a brief conversation about a tatoo…followed by a raised eyebrow from the boy. But I decided to memorialize her in a photo book instead and make some other less body altering changes like hanging some curtains and cleaning out a closet.

We all cope differently with change. A friend described her disposition regarding change over here this week and another writer I admire gave her take here because there seems to be a new book out aimed at helping us take the fear out of change. So it seems I’m in good company continuing the theme today.

And you may or may not have noticed, depending on how you read this here blog, that I had a little bout with changing up the theme and header. Again. I blame the cat…

Me, the girl who’s go-to color has been turquoise for a good while now and before that declared an undying passion for purple…

This tryst with orange started with some nail polish… a very orange-y pink bottle discovered at my best girl’s house seemed fun, funky and just the right shade of different late last summer. Then come spring time, a pair of running shoes (though I don’t really run and if I am running like my friend says then you’d better run too because there is bound to be something chasing me…!) caught my eye- with their sultry pops of orange on a grey body…

Other family members must have been feeling the orange vibe too. I laughed when the birthday gift from my mother-in-law just happened to be a bright orange shirt with a scarf to match. And before I knew it I had bought not one but two different orange sweaters… and another happy orange t-shirt made it’s way into my closet… in my defense it was on clearance so how could I resist.

Upon opening the cabinets to put away a new found treasure last weekend, I realized how a cute floral pedestal coffee mug salvaged from a yard sale sporting– you guessed it– orange flowers… went along just peachy with the coral hued-orange anchor hocking bowls rescued from my mom’s goodwill pile years ago.

It seems my slight crush on the color coral has somehow blossomed into a full on love affair of all oranges… rich and spicy pumpkins or a bright and citrus-y neon. Juicy peach or golden coppers…

Maybe I’ll blame this tree…

Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. ~ 2 Corinthians 13:11b

Maybe change is not the dirty 6-letter word I always thought. Maybe I need to think about change in a different way….Growth. God himself is in the business of changing and more importantly growing hearts and lives. He makes all things new. Restored. Better than they were before.

It’s funny how tastes change. We change. We grow out of likes and dislikes. Grow into new habits and out of old ones. We change our hair, our menus and our addresses. And maybe, just maybe change is not all bad? Says the girl who typically fears change… Who is this person inhabiting my body?? But how would I have ever known I had such an affinity for orange if I hadn’t let a little bit into my cupboard and wardrobe?

So if orange is my new obsession maybe it’s signaling that I’m growing and changing in some ways…. Just for fun I looked up the meaning of the color orange…and you can read all about it here, but this is what struck me:

Because of it’s association with change, orange is often used as a transitional color or to represent a transition or change of some kind.

So here’s to meeting change the right way- with renewed hopes and a fresh perspective. With as much peace and joy as we can muster in whatever change growth lies ahead. Knowing that God is there no matter what changes around us. Present and encircled around us. Constant and unchangeable.

And I’ll be content to let God be the one with visible tatoos…

See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins. ~ Isaiah 49:16

…while I work on letting him change the state of my heart with his words.

But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ~ Jeremiah 31:33

And before I make any more big changes I’ll make sure to seek him first.

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6 thoughts on “Orange You Glad it’s Friday?”

Oh — this line! “I’ll let God be the one with visible tattoos” because he has us written on the palms of his hands — beautiful! I am all in favor of your new affinity for the color orange. I bought a wallet in Italy because I fancied it was apricot, not orange because I’m NOT a fan of orange — but you’re changing my mind – -which isn’t a bad thing according to your post. (My, that was a run-on sentence, wasn’t it? But it’s Friday so I’ll let the grammar-girl police off this time!)

I will be thinking about change as growth too — I think I like that a whole lot better! Thanks for the link-love today! 🙂 xo

You are so welcome! ♥ Apricot was variation of orange I missed but it sounds lovely!! And I never liked orange very much either until the past year…! Don’t worry- all comments are grammar free zones…! Sometimes my posts are too!! (The husband alerted me to the misspelling of tattoo well after the fact…oh well!) Hope you had a lovely weekend! xo ♥

Funny, when it came to picking out the “just right” color of our new home it was…orange! (well, orange/gold to be more precise. But, the neighbors all say we’re the new folks living in the neat looking “orange house”.)
Orange is the color of change – you’re right. A number of years ago a study was done by a noted psychiatrist about the correlation between changing / volatile temperament and people with red/orange hair. More than a coincidence, there must be some type of chemistry affecting both color and mood.
Since being able to spend time just gazing at our backyard pond I realize that even the most tranquil of waters is constantly changing. Go for the orange, girl!